Introduction to EEG recordings and

analysis

JAYAKRISHNAN NAIR
UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH
 What is Electroencephalogram ?
• First used in humans by Hans Berger in 1924.
• A tracing of voltage fluctuations vs time
recorded from electrodes placed over scalp in
a specific array.
• Recording of spontaneous electrical activity of
the cortex
• Neuro-electric signals are recorded as
potential defferences between electrodes.
 EPSPs and IPSPs
• Summation of EPSPs and IPSPs EEG waves
• EPSP- Post synaptic neuron is depolarised to
threshold and an action potential is generated.
• IPSP- Keeps cell at a highly negative state
(hyperpolarised).
Summation.
• Temporal summation
• Spatial summation
 Uses of EEG
• Clinical use.
A routine clinical EEG recording typically lasts 20–30 minutes
(plus preparation time) and usually involves recording from
scalp electrodes.

• Research use
EEG, and its derivative, ERPs, are used extensively in
neuroscience, cognitive science, cognitive psychology, and
psychophysiological research.
 Polysomnographic recordings in rats
Classification of sleep-wake cycle.
Wake state- active wake and quiet wake
NREM sleep- Slow wave sleep S1 and S2

Waking –NonREM sleep transition NREM-REM transition

 Cortical oscillations associated with
cognitive behaviour.
• Theta rhythm (4-8 Hz)
Prominent during exploration, spatial navigation etc. In humans theta rhythm is found to be
enhanced during working memory task.

• Ultrafast oscillations (>100Hz)

• Beta rhythm (15-30 Hz)

Electrophysiological studies of humans and monkeys generally confirmed that beta rhythm
is associated with preparation and inhibitory control of motor system.
• Gamma rhythm (30-80 Hz)
“..[Oscillations are] not independent events that impose timing on neuronal spiking
but rather are a reflection of self-organized interactions of those same neurons
that detect, transfer, and store information”.
• Delta waves
Predominant during slow wave sleep
 Theta rhythm (4-8 Hz)
Prominent during exploration, spatial navigation etc.

In humans theta rhythm is found to be enhanced during working memory task.

Cortical sleep spindles and
hippocampal ripples.
 Neural recordings consists of spikes and Local field potentials

Spikes are descrete or digital signals

LFP s are analog signals
 Analysis of brain signals

• Analysis in the time domain

Auto correlation
Cross correlation
Zero crossing
• Analysis in the frequency domain
Fast fourier Transform
Coherence
• Time frequency analysis
spectrogram
Any complex wave can be represented as the sum of sin and cosine waves